Post-Hospital Recovery-Leveraging Technology for Improved Outcomes
There’s so much that happens when a patient leaves the hospital. With an overwhelming influx of patients and insufficient health personnel, most hospitals especially tertiary centers aim to discharge patients as soon as possible so the next one can come in. This quick turn over sometimes lead to a higher rate of relapse.
Statistics show that over 15% of patients return back to the hospital within 30days of discharge in the US, common complications include infection, wound breakdown or a full blown re-occurrence of the event. Though the data is sketchy, the rates are expectedly higher in Nigeria. Can technology come in to play to reduce these ?
One of the keystones of post hospital recovery involves adherence to medications , so we need solutions that help patients follow their drug regimen, the reality isn’t just the reminder, but integrating this into their daily lives as well as monitoring adherence. So creating the link between when a drug is taken , can we have digital formulary or Drug tracker ?
Another key point is vital assessment , for diabetes, Hypertension and cardiovascular disease (some of the main contributors to hospital relapse) for example these are critical determinants in successful recovery, thankfully we having more solutions that make these processes easier with the Apple Watch and health apps leading the pack.
Access to a health professional is also an important aspect of post-hospital management in the event of an emergency or adverse outcomes. The effectiveness of this is dependent on a multilayer of solutions, access/ availability of health records and data just in case you need to be attended to by a non-primary physician, telemedicine platforms that can give real time access and solutions to concerns and then access to a network of professionals like nurses or physiotherapists or who may need to render care at home in real-time.
Laguna Health a US based company is working to help patients with post hospital recovery via their new app, with a focus on reducing Re-admission rates even as more conversations and surport for Hospital-at-home care has increased in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the overwhelming stress it placed on the health system
Do we have similar solutions in Nigeria and do you think it’s feasible? If you would have a solution that helps with post-hospital recovery , what features would you love ?
Kindly share your thoughts
